Chris Maxwell's Newsletter

Another Day Along the Way
Monday, August 24, 2009

Another day,
I wonder how last weekend's gatherings will bring change. I ask, "Will the Revolution of Love guide us toward experiencing and applying a true season of transformation?"

I remember the songs of worship, of praise, of truth. The creeds of beliefs, of doctrine, of unity. The prayers of confession, of petition, of faith. The stories of history, of promise, of truth. The feelings of excitement, of hope, of doubt.

The gatherings offered opportunities to listen and learn. They provided time for evaluating ourselves. They lured glances to the past, observations of the present, and decisions for the future.

In Emmanuel's ALPHA Weekend, we heard Jesus talking about a new birth and letting a light shine, David singing his confessions of a Shepherd, and Paul proclaiming love as the core element of faith and church.

Four events for hearing an invitation to join a revolution - a revolution of love. How? Being loved. Receiving love. Showing love. Living love. What might be the results of such a life? Change. Revolution. Lives of biblical love.

The old song asks, "What's love got to do with it?" Our ALPHA Revolution of Love answered: "God's love has everything to do with life. God's love is the entrance into a world of change and revolution, grace and faith, authenticity and community, redemption and transformation."

I hope participants remember the signs along the road, the videos, the songs, the instructions, and the stories. I hope we all continue reflecting on the confessions, the baptisms, the testimonies of change, the story of staying in the closet while never entering Narnia, and the message of light in a dark room. I hope we learned; I hope we continue learning.

I hope we all welcome the revolution of God's love and live what we're learning.

Along the way,
Chris Maxwell

Powerful Statement: But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now we really live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you? (1 Thessalonians 3:6-9, NIV)

Another Day Along the Way
Saturday, August 8, 2009

Another day,
School begins again. Students enter the experience of learning.

Classes and books and tests and assignments. Expectations, explanations, information, application. Exciting lessons, boring lessons, confusing lessons. The simple. The difficult. The profound. Repetition. Memorization.

If you're entering school as a teacher or student, what thoughts come to mind? What positive and negative feelings? What goals do you seek to accomplish? What memories of classes from the past? What dreams for the future?

Often, we let our school seasons end. Final exams, grades, and diplomas indicate graduation. Degrees equal conclusions. But is that perspective healthy? Is it correct?

Whatever our learning skills, our ventures of education should never end. That journey should be a lifetime of learning. New ideas. Fresh perspectives. Unfamiliar words. Innovative views.

The brains we trust are electrical systems. Words and images teach us, guide us, redirect us. Our spirits seek to grow and develop no matter our age, our health, or our learning disabilities. My personal experience with brain damage and epilepsy reinforce the importance of working hard to learn. That is much better than giving up and quitting. Having to work harder can motivate me more; and, your own battles, disappointments, and struggles can trigger a desire to research and discover.

Instead of thinking about school seasons beginning and ending, rather than viewing graduation and degrees as times of conclusion, let us remain enrolled in the class of life. By reading a book and discussing an idea, we can continue pursuing diplomas of depth and understanding.

Jesus set a good example of learning. The Physician and author Luke describes how Jesus - God in the flesh - grew in wisdom. He also tells the story of Jesus staying busy learning while Joseph and Mary left town without Him:

And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers.

"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men. (Luke 2:40, 45-47, 49-52, NIV)

The goal is to be teachable. Teachability, according to Adele Ahlberg Calhoun in Spiritual Discplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, is "a propensity and openness to learn from God no matter who the teacher or what the experience may be." She writes, "Jesus constantly looked for teachable people....(He) was passionate about those with ears to hear. He was attracted to those who willingly admitted how much they didn't know."

But how? How can we live as students in our hurried world? Calhoun suggests developing humility, listening more, talking less, refraining from snapped judgments based on appearances, curbing the know-it-all attitude, and choosing to be a lifelong learner.

So, as school begins again, let's all join the journey of learning. Let's never leave it. Whatever the time of year or our age in life, let's be students. View every room as a classroom, every experience as a moment to learn. By sitting among teachers, listening to them and asking questions, we can continue growing in wisdom...like Jesus did.

Along the way,
Chris Maxwell

Powerful Statement: Jesus is still looking for teachable disciples. How teachable are we? Do we hide behind our knowledge and feel uncomfortable being the learner? Will we be the student again and again and again?
(Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us, InterVarsity Press, 2005)